In a pilot study, researchers found a Spanish-language version of an evidence-based English-language cognitive intervention developed at Kessler Foundation to be effective. The findings signal an important step toward culturally appropriate care for Spanish speakers with multiple sclerosis.

While problems with learning and memory occur across populations with MS around the world, the availability of evidence-based cognitive interventions in different languages is limited. The lack of interventions in Spanish presents a barrier to the rehabilitation of many individuals in the Hispanic community who have cognitive deficits caused by MS. An international team of researchers has adapted the English-language Story Memory Technique, a cognitive intervention developed at the Kessler Foundation, into Spanish for use in the cognitive rehabilitation.

In the pilot study, 20 participants with relapsing MS were randomized into either treatment or placebo control groups. The treatment group received the Spanish-language adaptation of the KF-mSMT, a 10-session intervention that teaches imagery and context to facilitate learning. The control group participated in 10 sessions based on similar content and presentation. 

Individuals in the treatment group showed significant improvements in learning and life satisfaction relative to the control group, suggesting that that this adaptation of the KF-mSMT may be an effective rehabilitative tool in Spanish-speaking populations with MS.

The article was published by NeuroRehabilitation.